International Renewable Energy Finance Mechanisms and the Role of Local Stakeholders in Project Design and Implementation: Perceptions from Zambia

Abstract

Internationally financed renewable energy initiatives play a key role in the promotion and deployment of renewable energy in Zambia. Some scholars argue that financing initiatives have largely excluded meaningful local actor participation in the process of rolling out the various interventions. This article explores the interactions that occur between some of the financing initiatives and government agencies in the energy sector in Zambia. The article presents the perceptions of experts in the sector on how the local stakeholders, have interacted with development partners in designing, implementing, and monitoring renewable energy initiatives in Zambia. The results reveal that generally most respondents were of the view that the local actors were given enough room in the project design and implementation process. However, almost 30% of the participants believed the role played by the local actors was minimal and needed to be improved. Therefore, in this era of advocating for a just transition towards clean energy, local stakeholder involvement facilitates an equally important concept of procedural justice which is essential to have a meaningful decision-making process that allows stakeholders on all sides to understand the key players in the process but also the impacts and burdens that may result from those decisions.